Research Commercialisation: The Road to Economic Recovery and Growth

UK government, leading industrial, investor and academic speakers to review strategies to support the commercialisation of academic research at a new Elsevier conference

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London, March 18, 2014

With high expectations of a return on government and public investment in academic research regarding job creation and economic growth, the pressure for sustained success has increased exponentially in the past five years. In that context, Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced a new thought-leadership event about the most effective ways to enhance the commercialisation of university-owned intellectual property.

“Research Commercialisation: From Ideas to IPO” (19-20 May 2014, London, UK www.idea2ipo-conference.com) will provide an international forum for knowledge transfer that will enable different sectors to develop new government- university-industry -investor collaborations. Thought leaders representing a wide range of government, academic, and industrial experts all of whom understand the necessity for an international partnering platform, will address what has worked, what has failed, and concrete steps to improve global economic innovation and job creation. Together they will explore ways to translate entrepreneurial innovations into economic growth.

Amanda Brooks, Director for Innovation within the UK government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), will give the keynote presentation. Other key speakers include:

Speakers will provide topical insight and real world examples of the challenges, risks, and opportunities associated with entrepreneurial projects that commercialise university-owned intellectual property. In addition to traditional information exchange, an online partnership system for delegates will be implemented to build connections and foster future collaborations.

Commercialisation of research and technology as a route to economic growth Universities are a major driver of the British economy. In 2011-12, they contributed £3.4 billion through business services including commercialisation of new knowledge, delivery of professional training and consultancy, according to findings by the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey.

This report prompted the British government to invite Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, to undertake an independent review "to explore how universities can support growth by working with organizations such as Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), responsible for setting strategies to drive economic growth across the country." The Witty Review, which Elsevier’s Research Intelligence team helped produce, was released on October 17. Ten recommendations are made (page 6) to the British government, many of which will be discussed at the conference.

Additionally, a recent report for the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, showed the UK remains a global research heavyweight. While the UK represents just 0.9% of the global population, it accounts for 3.2% of R&D expenditure, 4.1% of researchers, 6.4% of research articles, 9.5% of research article downloads and 15.9% of the world's most highly-cited articles. The report, also supported by Elsevier’s Research Intelligence, showed the important role that cross-disciplinary collaboration plays in solving complex research problems, another key conference theme.

“We want students, faculty, business leaders, policy makers, entrepreneurs and investors to engage in a way that inspires new projects and builds sustainable relationships,” said Dr. Lily Khidr, Program Chair, and a publisher at Elsevier. “We have brought together a dynamic group of international keynote speakers and panel sessions to achieve this.”

Early registration deadline is April 7, 2014. For more information, go to: http://www.idea2ipo-conference.com/conference-register.html

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About ElsevierElsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open science and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support and professional education, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 38,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com